If you’re like most people, a large percentage of your day is spent sitting down. You work at a desk, you drive to and from work, you come home and watch TV or use your computer. However, more people are waking up to the realization that sitting all day is unhealthy. The standing desk revolution is well underway. While you may already be sold on the importance of a standing desk, we recommend adding a balance board to your setup to enjoy even greater health benefits.
The Top 4 Advantages of Using a Balance Board with Your Standing Desk
For how simple it appears, using a balance board offers a number of benefits. Many of them apply to athletes, but the following are advantages associated with balancing movements that everyone should add to their lives.
- A Balance Board Forces You to Stabilize Your Muscles
Unless you’re constantly stabilizing your muscles – especially your core – you won’t be standing on your balance board for long. Muscle stabilization is extremely important. When you use a balance board, your lumbopelvic region must work to keep you upright. This region is left to atrophy when you sit all day and, as a result, you can end up with a core that struggles to carry its own weight when you begin moving around again.
- Micro-Movements are Better Than Just Standing
Standing beats sitting all day. If you’ve ever tried it for a prolonged period of time, though, you know that fidgeting soon sets in. You shift your weight from one side to another. You bend at your waist in different directions. Using a balance board makes it fun to stay standing. The micro-movements required to stay vertical are also fantastic forms of exercise that don’t require you to stop what you’re doing and find a gym.
- Low-Impact Movements Activate Different Parts of Your Body
The low-impact movements required to use a balance board force you to recruit muscles from all over your body. At the same time, unlike high-impact exercises, you’re not constantly risking injury. This makes low-impact activities great for people of all fitness levels and ages.
- A Balance Board Will Keep You Alert
Obviously, you can’t get away with snoozing while you’re on a balance board. However, moving throughout the day will also help you stay more alert. This is another big advantage a balance board has over using a standing desk all by itself. Even though you’re unlikely to fall asleep standing up, standing still can definitely become tiresome.
These are just a few of the many benefits a balance board offers. You receive none of these from being seated all day, which is one more reason sitting is so bad for your health.
